The recent narrative surrounding AI Agents has evolved from "helping me write code" to "helping me spend money." I've always considered x402 a "thermometer": a signal of whether the AI economy can form a real transaction loop. This is essentially a return to internet-native micro-payments, not just an extension of a particular exchange's narrative. December Timeline: From "Available" to "Standard Candidate" December 11: x402 V2 Officially Launched This is a significant turning point. x402 has upgraded from an early payment patch to a payment layer with multi-chain support, dynamic routing, and session reuse capabilities. Its core significance lies in: It significantly reduces the friction of agents repeatedly signing and settling across different chains and APIs, beginning to possess the engineering attributes of a "default payment layer." December 18: Official Solana Intervention The official @solana account announced deep support for x402 and created the @x402 account. Given the typical characteristics of Agent payments—high frequency and extremely small amounts—Solana's advantages in cost and confirmation speed are beginning to translate into real adoption. Currently, the Solana network contributes over 50% of the transactions in the protocol, a signal that it's been "used" rather than just promotional data. December 19: Google and Circle's Infrastructure-Level Integration Google Cloud released AP2 and selected x402 as its stablecoin payment extension; Circle simultaneously deepened its USDC integration. On the same day, Lowe's launched a commercial pilot based on this payment path. The value of these actions lies not in "endorsement," but in the default option; x402 is being embedded into existing cloud and enterprise processes. December 20: Cumulative Payment Transactions Exceed 100 Million Official disclosure that since its launch in May 2025, the cumulative number of processed payments has exceeded 100 million. For payment standards like x402, "call volume" is more important than TVL (Transaction Value per Transaction), as it directly reflects whether the transactions are actually consumed by machines. Why I believe $PAYAI has the potential to be re-rated to 100M MC Currently, $PAYAI's market capitalization is roughly in the $10M–$20M range. Disclosure of interest: I hold a small position in $PAYAI, solely for personal research purposes and not constituting any investment advice. I believe 100M (approximately 8–10x potential) is a logically debatable re-rate range, based primarily on three points, not sentiment: 1: Consensus Concentration Within the Solana ecosystem, $PAYAI has become one of the main liquidity carriers under the x402 narrative. Funds are seeking a "settlement entry point" for the Agent economy; the volume/market capitalization ratio structure indicates it is being treated as a beta in this direction. 2: Early Beneficiary of Infrastructure Valuation Correction The core value of x402 V2 lies in "reduced integration costs." If more pay-per-use API/Agent services (such as cloud resources, data scraping, and auditing services) default to x402 redirects by early 2026, then the assets first reflected in the market will typically see their valuations rise. 3: The Rationality of the Narrative Loop If the settlement layer of the machine economy ultimately points to a scale of billions or even tens of billions, then 100M is not an exaggerated price, but rather a reasonable room for imagination in early beta—provided that data monetization continues. How would I verify if this judgment still holds true? If the following three signals weaken, I will directly lower my expectations for $PAYAI: * **Actual Integration Count:** How many paid API/Agent services have actually been launched? (x402 payment wall - only look at implementation, not official announcements) * **Session Reuse Success Rate:** Determines whether the Agent can run stably under high-frequency calls; it's the lifeline of UX. * **Facilitator Openness:** The settlement layer must move towards multi-party competition and market-based routing, rather than being converged by a single platform. **Key Dates Requiring Additional Marking:** * **January 16, 2026:** ERC-8004 (Trustless Agents) mainnet launch. If x402 solves "how the Agent pays," ERC-8004 solves "the Agent's identity and responsibility." Only when identity and payment are standardized simultaneously can the Agent evolve from a script tool into an entity with independent economic behavior. The current x402 is very similar to DeFi in early 2020: it is still questioned for its centralization and unclear path, but the permissionless, instant settlement experience is something that traditional payment systems cannot provide.

We make money, AI spends it 🤣

AI makes money, we spend it.